1. Field of the Invention
Various methods have been proposed to get fiber structure from wheat gluten, without employing the spun fiber method, because of its structural characteristics. However, many of the products obtained by these methods were found to be not fibrous but rather flaky, fishwormy, or spongy, thus being far different from the fiber structure. On the other hand, a method of obtaining continuous fiber structure without employing the spun fiber method has been developed, but it is not yet satisfactory from the aspects of quality, utility, or facility cost.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Though U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,823 refers to the materials, compositions, and stretching methods for preparing "meat analog" having fiber structure, it is failed to study the heating process, upon which the taste or flavor of the product is considerably dependent. The present inventors have made intensive studies on the heating method with the purpose of improving the taste or flavor of the product and at the same time reducing the amounts of steam or other utilities consumed.